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Rosa Outing ENC 3331 9 April 2014 Rhetorical Citizenship

When I think of the term rhetorical I think of my mother. Nearly every weekday when my mom would come home from work and the kitchen was dirty she would ask why is this kitchen dirty, have youve lost your mind? I could never answer her, but I thought about what she said enough to scurry to the kitchen and clean it. Was my mom implementing rhetorical characteristics within me from the early stages of my childhood? Is it ironic that that is a rhetorical question too? Ok, Ill stop but it all boils down to a really good question; what exactly does rhetorical mean? In Rhetoric and Civic Life Richard defines it as The use of symbolic action used by human beings to share ideas enabling them to work together to make decisions about matters of common concern and to construct social reality. In simpler terms the art of persuasion. Practicing rhetorical persuasion would make you a rhetor. Although a rhetor is in five facets it is overall summed up by persona. Persona is the character, role, identity, authority, and image a rhetor constructs and performs during a rhetorical act (150). My mother was a master a persuading my siblings and I, shed always give us a distinct look, shed complain about her rough day, threaten to tell my father (The worst) but most importantly shed make us to what needed to be done. My mother was and still is a great rhetor.

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In difference, citizenship isnt as easy to explain. From the top of my mind Id like to think of citizenship as being a part of a specific society. However, in order to give an explicit definition it is important to look beyond its legal and theoretical explanations. Literacy not only brings about healthier citizenship through participation; it also enforces certain legal, economic and cultural exclusion, which often go unacknowledged and should be made more visible in the citizenship producing efforts in the writing classroom (Wan 1). Citizenship is more about active involvement within a community. These efforts are used to build some type of social order within a population. So how do we get rhetorical citizenship? Well, if we connect both definitions, Id say that rhetorical citizenship is the endowment of citizens who are committed to their citizenship. Rhetorical citizenship is a population of people who interact with each other in order to express the needs or desires of their community. This could include every single thing that interests them, and whats important to them, so that they may be able to solve any social obstacles in reach of their district. It is also the way they persuade and work towards social change with the use of rhetorical writing and speech. In Isocrates Antidosis, we realize the importance of the ability to engage and persuade others with the use of rhetorical writing and speech. It is With speech we fight over our contentious matter, we investigate the unknown. We use the same arguments by which we persuade others in our own deliberations; we call those able to speak in a crowd Rhetorical; we regard as sound advisers those who debate with themselves most skillfully about public affairs. If one must summarize the power of discourse, we will discover that nothing done prudently will occur without speech (logos). That speech is the leader of all thoughts and actions, and that the most intelligent people use it most of all. (252). Although, Isocrates comes off egotistic and a little dramatic he does hold a few valid claims. In this

Outing1 text Isocrates is trying to make a defense toward his viewpoints on the power of rhetorical speech. Although, everyone around him seems to disagree, Isocrates is sure that the ability to deliver a persuasive speech makes it easier to understand what is needed and wanted in a culture. Or as my mother would say The first step towards solving any kind concern is identifying the problem. Speak up! I learned a great deal of Rhetorical Citizenship and the advantages of persuasive speech with Project TrIp and The Corridor Project. As someone who used to ride the bus a lot, I can relate to a lot of the anguish, impatience and even embarrassment when it came to all the blog post about riding the bus. There are vast amount of issues within Orlandos Public Transportation System that I know are ignored and shouldnt be. I always thought about starting some sort of petition but I stop myself at the thought of you dont have a car, so be thankful , and then I battle with the thought of doing everything whole heartedly. This basically means that you shouldnt try to help someone if youre just going to treat them like they dont deserve it. Often times it feels like Orlandos Public Transportation System treats their citizens like they dont deserve public transportation. It is through rhetorical citizenship that we worked towards a solution or at least self-expression towards this issue. Pairing up with The Corridor Project a local blog that documents locals and their experiences with the Lynx bus system in hopes to address the concerns of a contemporary art museum, by adapting, and respecting environmental, economic and other societal changes, also creating our own classroom blog TrIp the Knight Fantastic a reflection and documentation of UCF students as they experience the transit system in Central Florida. I would identify us as citizens of Orlando because we are practicing citizenship by actively being involved within the community. From my perspective, rhetoric encompasses motivated someone to move or to think enough to change. My views didnt change much from riding the bus because I ride the

Outing1 bus all of the time. However, I will say that learning about people in East Orlando who actually care about these problems was motivating. It was motivational in the aspect of not giving up on the thought of a resolution and learning how to spread the word. In this Civic Engagement class we spread the word with a rhetorical voice through our wordpress blog.

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Works Cited Palczewski, Catherine Helen., Richard Ice, and John Fritch. Rhetoric in Civic Life. State College, PA: Strata Pub., 2012. Print. Wan, Amy. In the Name of Citizenship. College English 74.1 (2011): 28-49. Print. Isocrates, David C. Mirhady, and Yun Lee. Too. Isocrates I. Austin, TX: University of Texas, 2000. Print.